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Thursday, 6 September 2012

Excavation of a buddle. The stone floor of this structure is rare; most were floored with timber. Crown Copyright. RCAHMW

The Welsh Mines Preservation Trust and the Royal Commission’s Metal Links team have recently been working at Frongoch mine in Ceredigion. Frongoch was an extensive and important lead and zinc mine complex, first recorded in 1759 and operating until the turn of the 20th century. A number of structures and features survive at the site including shafts, engine houses and powder magazines; a crusher house, stamps mill, winding house and dressing mill, together with numerous watercourses, structures and earthworks associated with the various ore preparation processes.

In 1984, the Royal Commission carried out a detailed survey of the remains here, the results of which were subsequently featured in a book ‘Frongoch Lead and Zinc Mine’ written by David Bick and published by the Northern Mine Research Society.

Recent work at the mine has concentrated on the lower dressing floors, where the fine particles of metal ore were retrieved. In this area additional information, uncovered since 1984, has been added to the original Royal Commission survey and a series of buddles – a machine which washed and separated the metal ore - excavated. This work was carried out in advance of planned Environment Agency work at the site, the first stage of which has now been carried out under the archaeological supervision of Dyfed Archaeological Trust.

An aerial view of Frongoch taken in February 2012.Crown Copyright. RCAHMW AP_2012_1389

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